Everside Health to hold open houses in January

Learn about Everside Health’s care and services at two upcoming open houses:

Everside Health is another option of primary care AFTNJ members covered by the State Health Benefits Plan can take advantage of where there are no copays for any of their primary care visits, including in-person and virtual appointments.…

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AFT task force issues report on health worker shortage

The AFT Healthcare Staffing Shortage Task Force recently issued a report as part of the union’s ongoing effort “to improve our nation’s healthcare system and the working conditions our members endure,” as stated in the report’s introduction.

Among the components of the staffing shortage examined in the report are unsafe working conditions, inadequate compensation for frontline workers and insufficient worker voice and trust.…

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U.S. DOE to launch mental health learning series

On Oct. 4, join the U.S. Department on Education for the start of a three-part series promoting mental health for students.

According to the U.S. DOE, the series “will tackle pressing issues facing the field and will highlight ways to support student mental health, increase access to services and support the whole child.”

The schedule is as follows:

• Oct.…

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HPAE aims to address the well-being of all workers

The Health Professionals and Allied Employees (HPAE) and the AFT have joined forces to provide virtual emotional-support workshops for workers from all industries.

“Too often we focus on the physical ailments associated with COVID-19 and fail to address the emotional and mental strain the virus has had on everyone’s well-being,” said HPAE President Debbie White.

The “Moving Forward.…

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Boosting SEL for educators

The objective of any social and emotional learning program, writes District Administration’s Chris Burt, “is to keep teachers emotionally physically healthy and lessen the tensions in classrooms that often lead to an increase in poor behavior and a decrease in test scores among students.”

With that in mind, he shares five ideas from the Southern Education Foundation on how to boost SEL for educators.…

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Webinars cover vaccine hesitancy, preventing premature births

Health care literacy organization Quizzify will present webinars this month on vaccines and preventing premature births.

“Overcoming Vaccine Hesitancy” is set for April 7 at 1 p.m. ET. Dr. Christa-Marie Singleton, who holds multiple titles with the CDC, and Dr. Scott Conrad, a medical director for various corporations, will be taking questions. To register, click here.…

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Webinar explores AFT’s new trauma-counseling program

Learn about the new AFT trauma-counseling program, introduced this year, during a Feb. 25 webinar with AFT President Randi Weingarten and others.

Find out how to access the program, the nature of covered incidents and how the program’s counseling differs from traditional counseling or therapy.

The webinar begins at 4 p.m. ET on Feb. 25. To register, click here.…

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GetCoveredNJ health insurance deadline extended to May 15

The enrollment window for GetCoveredNJ, the state-based health insurance marketplace, has been extended through May 15 for uninsured residents through a COVID-19 Special Enrollment Period, per a Jan. 29 email from NJ.gov.

For coverage to be in effect Feb. 1, however, New Jerseyans seeking health insurance are encouraged to sign up by Jan. 31.

For more information, click here.…

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Weingarten: Phase 1b of COVID-19 vaccine should include educators, school staff and at-risk students

ABC News reports that AFT President Randi Weingarten wrote in a letter sent last week to the chairman of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices that educators, school staff and at-risk students should be included in phase 1b recommendations for the COVID-19 vaccine.

“The vaccine must be readily available to them on-site to allow for the safe, orderly and timely reopening of schools,” Weingarten wrote to ACIP Chairman Jose Romero.…

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Murphy: More masks for students, school staffs

As part of new, wide-ranging COVID-19 safety measures, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said Nov. 9 that the New Jersey State Police and the Department of Education are distributing 2.4 million masks to school students, educators and staff.

In addition, Murphy said all indoor interstate sports through the high school level are prohibited. He said it was “quite clear, unequivocally” that indoor sports — especially indoor hockey — have been a source of COVID-19 cases.…

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AFT, other unions sue OSHA, Department of Labor

The American Federation of Teachers is among the unions that filed a lawsuit Oct. 29 against the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Department of Labor and Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia.

In the suit, the AFT and its fellow plaintiffs are asking the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to require OSHA “to cease its unlawful delay in issuing an Infectious Diseases Standard” in order to protect health care workers.…

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Debut issue of AFT Health Care is out now

AFT Health Care is a new journal that AFT President Randi Weingarten says focuses “not only on the practice of health care but also on the social, economic and environmental factors that powerfully affect our health and the well-being of our communities.”

“This journal is designed to support our shared work of rethinking what health care systems should be and how we can provide universal coverage, put patients above profits, and cultivate health,” she added.…

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